


Challenging Authority

by rocknrollout



Series: Being Yourself Gets Easier With Age [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Awesome Steve Rogers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, FTM Tony, Fluff, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Humor, Hurt Tony, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Maria Stark's A+ Parenting, Protective Steve, Teen Angst, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Transgender, Transphobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-12
Updated: 2015-07-12
Packaged: 2018-04-06 07:59:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4214160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rocknrollout/pseuds/rocknrollout
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On May 29th, Maria Stark went into labor. The baby was perfectly healthy and after 5.3 hours, the doctor was able to hold up a bright red, wriggling baby and announce that Howard and Maria Stark now had a perfect baby girl. </p><p>That was when problems started to arise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

On May 29th, Maria Stark went into labor. As far as births go, it wasn't exceptionally impressive. There was a lot of pain and screaming, but nothing worth talking about, really. The baby was perfectly healthy, and after 5.3 hours, the doctor held up a bright red, wriggling mess and announced that Howard and Maria Stark had a _perfect baby girl_.

That was when problems started to arise. 

You see, that baby was not a girl. It didn't matter that her birth certificate clearly thought that she was, or that her name was Natasha Antoinette Stark. Not even the fact that she had two x chromosomes and fucking vagina swayed her opinion. She knew, with utmost certainty, that she was not a girl. 

He was a boy. No matter how many dresses his mother forced him into. Or how many times his dad replaced his model train sets with dolls. Not even when his mother wholeheartedly refused to let him cut his hair short. He was a boy.

His parents didn't know about how he felt; or at least, they refused to acknowledge it. They had just "assumed" that he was what most people call a tomboy. And so had he, for a while. He only felt comfortable when he was wearing guy clothes though his mom did still force him into the occasional dress, so it wasn't that far of a leap.   

Natasha had fully realized that he was not a girl, or a tomboy when he was 13. He'd wandered onto an LGBTQAA+ website and finally learned what the T stands for in the acronym: Transgender. It had felt like a weight was lifting off of his chest; his feelings towards his body and his gender were starting to make sense. He had realized that it was okay for him to not like dresses, and to feel like he wasn't a girl. There were people, adults, who felt the same way.  

Now, Natasha was 16 and solely going by Tony. He still wore guy clothes, including the male uniform for his school (oh, the things you can get if you put up enough of a bitch fit). He still had long hair, to appease his mother, but kept it tied up underneath an ugly beanie his friend Clint had given to him. He also had a kick-ass group of friends, and about the best boyfriend anyone could ask for, who all knew his real gender. 

So, all things considered, Tony's life wasn't that awful. 

He was currently at his boyfriend's house, enjoying the calm that came with it. Steve and his mom lived in a small apartment smack in the middle of Brooklyn. You can guess how Tony's snobbish parents felt about that. Howard was still trying to set Tony up with the asshole son of the CEO of Stark Industries’ partner company Viastone. Even though Tony has been in a serious relationship with Steve for almost 2 years.

Anyways, Steve and Sarah Rogers's home may not be the mansion Tony lived in, but he had never felt so comfortable. Nothing compared to sitting at their dining table, helping Steve with homework. Or when he and Steve would cuddle up on Steve's double bed and watch Netflix on Tony's laptop. Which is what they were doing right now actually.

It was December 10th, and the landlord had yet to properly fix the heating in their apartment. So Steve had pulled an old wool blanket out from the deepest parts of his closet and wrapped it around both of them. Tony wasn't about to complain about pressing himself against Steve's massive chest.

Since Steve's mom worked both nights (and sometimes days) as a nurse, they were wearing earbuds to try and stay as quiet as possible so Sarah could sleep before her shift.

“Tony,” Steve chastised in a hushed voice, “this is supposed to be a suspenseful scene, stop laughing.”

“Oh come on,” Tony answered in the same hushed tone, with a hint of amusement. “Look at how some of them are falling… Those two just spun like freaking tops,” he said, pointing at the screen. He turned his head to look at Steve, beaming. “It’s hillaaarious,” he drawled.  

“You’re ridiculous,” Steve sighed, forcing his eyes back to the screen; not on his ridiculous(ly cute) boyfriend. They were watching Titanic, and the ship was currently going down. Jack was helping Rose over the railing, and even as people obviously died on screen, Tony wouldn’t stop laughing. The laughter seemed to be contagious, because Steve let out a small giggle when someone hit the propeller of the ship, spinning into the sea.

“See? It’s funny.”

“Shut up,” Steve muttered without aggression, pulling Tony’s smug ass closer to him. He wrapped his arms around Tony’s waist, burying his face into soft brown hair. Tony tended not to wear his beanie when it was just him and Steve; the hat wasn't amazingly comfortable and Steve loved to run his fingers along Tony's scalp.

They both turned back to the screen in time to see more people die in hilariously dramatic ways. Causing both teenage boys to start laughing anew. They weren’t being incredibly quiet anymore, either. That’s why, when there was a knock on Steve’s door, they froze.

“Steve? Tony?” Sarah asked quietly, sounding worn out. She opened Steve’s door, peeking her head into the bedroom.

“Yes, Mom?” Steve said, pausing the movie and pulling his earbud out. “Are we being too noisy?”

“No, Stevie, you’re okay,” Sarah said, flipping on the light switch. Tony blinked awkwardly at the sudden wash of light. “I just wanted to tell you two that I’m heading to work and that Tony needs to head home pretty soon. It’s a school night.” Now that she was properly illuminated, it was obvious that Sarah was ready to go. She had pulled her hair back into a neat bun and was in a pair of green scrubs. Perfect for the ER.

“Ok, Mom.”

“No problem, Mrs. R.”

Tony closed his laptop and threw his half of the heavy blanket onto Steve’s legs, climbing off the bed to grab his backpack.

“Do you need a ride home, sweetie?” Sarah asked as Tony zipped his backpack closed.

“My car’s in the parking garage, but thank you,” Tony said, standing up. It didn’t matter that Tony was almost always driving himself nowadays. Sarah had been driving him home since he was in ninth grade and he and Steve had “study-dates” together every Wednesday night. It was an old habit she didn’t want to stop.  

“Ok, hun; why don’t we walk out together?” Sarah offered, as they left Steve's bedroom and went out to the living room, where the front door was. She grabbed a pair of old sneakers from the shoe rack, and slipped them on. They were also perfect for getting random bodily fluids on.

Tony knew why she wanted to walk with him. That parking garage wasn’t the safest place at 10 o'clock at night. If she hadn’t offered, Tony was sure that Steve would have. He still might.

“Yeah, sure,” he said with a genuine smile, quickly and messily lacing up his shoes. He was still getting used to an adult wholeheartedly caring about him and his well-being. Only Jarvis ever truly acted like that.  

Once they both had heavy winter coats on, and Steve had given both of them a kiss on the cheek, they left the apartment. Tony heard a resounding click, as Steve locked the door behind them.

“How have you been, Tony?” Sarah asked, as they walk down the long hallway towards the stairs of the building. The elevator’s been broken for, like, three years.

“Eh, I’m OK,” Tony said honestly enough, with a shrug. He knows that he can’t lie to Sarah anymore, so he doesn’t try to.

“Same old?”

“Yeah.”

Sarah Rogers knows pretty much everything about Tony’s life. He’s not ashamed (anymore) to say that he burst into tears when he came out to her and she just enveloped him in a really warm hug. She’s practically his mom by now, which is kinda weird since he’s dating her son, but whatever.

Speaking of Steve, the relationship he has with his mom baffles Tony on a daily basis. Their trust for each other is, for lack of a better word, incredible. Steve tells his mom literally everything, and Sarah trusts Steve so much that he barely has restrictions. Yeah, he’s got a curfew and has to do chores. But he’s also allowed to have his boyfriend, who has a freaking vagina, in his dark bedroom with the door closed, when the only adult in the house is asleep. And Sarah knows that they’re not going to do anything, and if they did, they’d be safe.

Sarah Rogers is fucking awesome, as a mom and a person.

* * *

When Tony got home, he was greeted by the butler, Edwin Jarvis.

The old man, who has had to deal with Tony’s dad for longer than anyone, was the only one in the house who didn’t constantly call Tony the wrong name, or use the wrong pronoun. Howard and Maria knew that Jarvis did it, but they didn’t say anything anymore, or try to stop him. Maria had initially wanted to fire him, but Howard wasn’t about to let that happen. Jarvis had worked for them too long, and knew far too many Stark Industries secrets, to ever fire.

“I’m glad to see that you’ve made it home safely,” Jarvis said with a warm smile. He helped Tony out of his coat and hung it on the coat rack as Tony took off his shoes. “Sandra made some pierogi a few hours ago if you’re hungry. I’m sure there’s some left in the kitchen.”

“No, thanks, Jarvis,” Tony said quickly, leaving the entryway and running up the expansive flight of stairs, through several hallways, and to his bedroom. Thankfully, Tony was able to get to his room without incident, and didn't see either of his parents.

Closing his door, Tony tossed his backpack onto his made bed (not by him), pulled off his hat, and sat down at his desk. It was metal, went from one corner to the other, and was currently covered in crap. After retying his hair back into a loose bun, Tony grabbed a piece of his latest project.

If he could get it working properly, it'd be a type of robotic arm. He wanted to install an artificial intelligence into it as well. So that it wouldn't be just another robotic arm; it was going to be smart.

He worked on that for a while, trying to get the joints in the arm moving properly. He also worked on the coding for the artificial intelligence, on his desktop. Around 12;00, there was a knock on his door.

"Come in," he called, assuming that it was Jarvis coming to make him go to bed.

"Hi, sweetheart," a soft female voice slurred. Tony spun around; his mom was leaning on the wooden doorway. She had a half-filled glass of wine in one hand and from how she was holding herself, she was clearly drunk. "What're you working on?"

"Nothing important. What do you want, Mama?"

"Can't a woman come see her baby girl?" Maria asked accusingly. She stumbled gracefully towards the bed and sat down; a splash of wine left the glass and dropped onto the bedspread.

Tony took a deep breath and cooled himself down. He can't yell at his mom. He won't yell at his mom. Dammit, he might yell at his mom.

Maria didn’t wait for Tony to respond. “Anyways, your father and I want you to go to the fundraiser for the survivors of...” she trailed off, looking dumbly at the ceiling. “...something. It’s...Saturday, I believe? Maybe Friday.”

 _God, she can’t even think straight. Maybe her brain finally gave up after all the abuse,_ Tony mused bitterly.

“I’m sure Jarvis can get you a new dress before then.”

Tony swallowed the pain clogging his throat. He knew it was futile to try and convince her to let him wear something he actually felt comfortable in. “Can I bring a guest?” Maybe if Tony could bring Steve, the whole ordeal would be _moderately_ bearable.  

Maria seemed to ponder that for a while, or maybe she just hadn’t been able to process that Tony had even said anything. She took another sip of her wine, and said, “As long as it’s not that poor boy.”

Tony rolled his eyes. Not this again. “He’s not poor, Mama; he’s middle class. There is a difference.”

Maria scoffed. “There are going to be important people there. We are not to be seen with someone in ratty jeans and an old shirt from Wal-Mart.” With that, she stood up and stumbled out of the room, spilling another small drop of wine onto Tony’s carpet.

Tony stood up slowly, and closed his door. Oh, how he wanted to slam it, to make sure that his mom knew how pissed he was, but that risked her coming back. So, yeah, he could resist the urge.

Closing his eyes, he tried counting down from ten... It didn’t work, not even a little bit. _Why the fuck do people even suggest that?_

Since he knew that he had to do something to calm down, he took a pillow off of his bed, collapsed onto his knees, pressed his face deep into the fluffy cotton, and screamed. It was high-pitched, watery and pathetic, but it helped. By the time he was done, his vocal cords burned. Tears had stained the pillow, in small dots and streaks; Tony hadn’t realized that he had been crying.    

There was a knock at the door. This one was different from Maria’s; it was tentative, like this person was willing (and possibly expecting) to be denied entrance.

“Come in,” Tony whined, pressing his back against the side of his bed, and hugging the pillow to his chest.

Jarvis entered the room. Without saying a word, he sat next to Tony, holding out a bottle of water and some apple slices on a small plate.

Tony took the water, downing half of it. “Thanks,” he muttered, replacing the cap and putting it down next to him.

Jarvis held out the apples a little more insistently. “You should get something in your stomach.”

Tony took a slice, and popped it into his mouth. It was a gala, his favorite. He finished the rest of the apples silently.

When he was done, Jarvis put the plate down and ran his fingers through Tony’s tangled hair; it had mostly fallen out of the bun by then. Tony had always loved having his hair played with. He leaned against Jarvis's shoulder, searching out more comfort. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jarvis asked quietly.

“Not really.”

They sat in comfortable silence for a while.

“Maria said that she wants me to get you a dress for the fundraiser on Saturday.”

“Yeah.”

“She really is a dumb woman, isn’t she?”

That made Tony smile. Jarvis didn’t often badmouth the Starks, at least not in front of Tony.  “Yeah,” he agreed. “I guess.”

“Where could you have possibly have gotten your genius? Both of your parents are such backward thinkers, it shocking that they’re clothes are on right.”

Tony laughed quietly. “Maybe I’m an alien.”

“It’s much more likely than those buffoons creating someone as wonderful as you,” Jarvis murmured, lightly massaging Tony’s scalp.

Tony let out a slow breath, content to stay where he was. “Thanks Jarvis.”

“It is my pleasure, Tony.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr, if you're interested: rocknrollout.tumblr.com


	2. Chapter 2

Tony Stark had a genius-level IQ, one that could easily outshine his father’s; hell, maybe even Einstein's on a good day. That meant that he could have, and probably should have, skipped grades and gone off to some fancy college. The thing is, his parents had actually been extremely opposed to that idea, or at least his mother had. She told him that she wanted him to get the _full high school experience_ , whatever the hell that was. Tony suspected that she just didn’t want him to grow up too soon, and start making his own choices.

Whatever the reason, Tony had been allowed to skip only one grade, so that he was in his last year of high school, the same year as Steve and pretty much all of his friends.

He and Steve didn’t go to the same school, which isn’t all that surprising given their different social statuses. Tony went to a boring private school, that made you wear gray and light blue uniforms and had you call all the teachers sir and ma’am. Steve was the one to actually get a real high school experience; he went to a somewhat boring public school, where you wore whatever the hell you wanted and ate cardboard for lunch.

“Ms. Stark, are you even listening?” The teacher at the front of the classroom accused, drawing everyone’s attention to Tony, sitting in the back of the classroom with his head raised to the ceiling, eyes interchanging between open and shut.   

“Don’t need to,” Tony smirked, without looking anywhere besides the starch white ceiling. “All I need to do is try not to fall asleep. Which, let me tell you, is not an easy task.”

The teacher huffed quietly, which just made Tony smile wider. “Fine, if you’re so smart, then what is the answer to the problem on the board.”

Tony glanced at the chalkboard and rolled his eyes. “It’s one of the seven Millennium Prize Problems: P vs. NP to be specific.” He leaned back in his chair. “You’ve been teaching us about how mathematicians have been approaching the problem, and how they still haven’t found a concrete answer. So, to answer your questions: there is no answer.”

The teacher sighed. “That is correct,” she said quickly, with a forced smile. There were a few snickers around the room as she turned to face the board. “Now class, can anyone tell me—”

And that was where Tony stopped paying attention altogether, since his phone had started buzzing quietly in his pocket. He pulled it out, thankful for the desk in front of him as he glanced down at his lap.

Rhodey, his all-time best friend, who was sitting two seats away from Tony, had texted him.

 **RhodeyBear:** _What the hell was that for?_  
(10:34 AM)

 **RhodeyBear:** _Do you want to get your dumb ass sent to the Headmaster’s office again?  
_ (10:34 AM)

Tony caught Rhodey’s eye and blew him a quick kiss, smirking at the other teen’s half-hearted glare.

 **Tony:** _Just reminding people of my genius.  
_ (10:35 AM)

 **RhodeyBear:** _You’re acting like a jackass.  
_ (10:37 AM)

 **Tony:** _That’s all part of my charm.  
_ (10:37 AM)

 **RhodeyBear:** _So that’s what you’re calling it now?  
_ (10:38 AM)

The bell rang before Tony could properly respond.

* * *

 

“Hey, Natasha!”

Tony glared into his locker, the door hiding his face from view. Why do people have to suck so much? He let out a slow breath and closed the locker.

“Need something, Justin?” Tony asked, adjusting his backpack on his shoulder as Justin Hammer ran over to him, a mess of gangly limbs and overconfidence.

“There’s a fundraiser on Saturday, for the survivors of that building collapse that happened last week; the one down on sixty-ninth street.” Hammer leaned on the locker next to Tony’s attempting to look cool...probably. It just made him more awkward.

Tony rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know it,” _I swear to god if he asks me out…_

“Well,” Justin drawled slowly, slipping down the locker slightly as he tried to move closer to Tony; he adjusted himself about as gracefully as one would expect. “How about you,” he pointed at Tony’s chest, “and me go together?”

 _He actually did it._ “Yeah, no,” Tony said simply. He took a step back. “Sorry, but I’m in a committed relationship with someone who’s not a prick.”

“Oh, come on, Natasha! It’s not—”

“ _Tony!_ ” 

Justin startled, not expecting the outburst. “What?” he asked, genuinely confused. How people still didn’t know that Tony didn’t go by Natasha was a real mystery. 

“My. Name. Is. Tony.”

“Yeah, whatever,” he dismissed Tony’s words quickly, continuing on his stupid quest to get Tony to date him. “So, do you want to go with me? We’d be the best looking pair there for sure!”

Tony ground his teeth together to stop from yelling again. He really couldn’t afford to get into a screaming match with Justin. “What did I _just_ tell you?”

“That your name’s Tony?”

“No—Well, yes, but I also told you that I am in a relationship and don’t want to go with you to that moronic fundraiser.” Tony was short, standing at only 5’4” on a good day, but he used every inch to get in Justin Hammer’s face and say “Now, you can kindly _go fuck yourself_.” By some miracle, he managed to never actually raise his voice.

Tony smirked when Justin practically fell over his own feet to create some space between them. Justin turned and tried to nonchalantly speed-walk down the hallway, presumably to his next class. Or maybe to the bathroom to cry.

By the time lunch came around, Tony had completely given up talking to other humans. He was perfectly content to sulk by himself for the rest of the day. Classes were boring, nearly everyone called him Natasha, and he was so damn tired of it all.

Headphones technically weren’t allowed on school property, which just made the students incredibly clever at how they hid them. Tony stuck in his Bluetooth headphones and started up a playlist of his angriest music.

After only half of a death metal rendition of Blank Space, Tony noticed that he was no longer alone at his table. Rhodey, Bruce, and Pepper were sitting across from him; Hank and Jan were sitting on either side of him.

Rhodey said something, but Tony (obviously) didn’t hear him.

When it became clear that Tony wasn’t about to take out his headphones, Jan reached underneath his beanie and pulled one bud out, dropping it onto the table.

“Hey!” Tony bitched, reaching for the headphone. He _really_ didn’t feel like talking right now. “You can’t just throw those around. Do you know how much— _Hey!_ ”

Rhodey grabbed the small bud before Tony, and held it out of his best friend's reach. "We heard that you told Justin to go fuck himself."

"Yup," Tony muttered, picking at his food; he took a small bite of the gross macaroni and cheese, stubbornly refusing to look up.

"So, why are you sulking?"

Tony didn't know what to say. Okay, that's not completely true; he just didn't want to say anything. Because emotions are fucking stupid.

"Tony, did something happen with you and Steve...?" Pepper asked tentatively. She reached forward to tilt Tony's head up, so that they're eyes met.

"What? No!" Tony snapped, shaking her fingers off of the bottom of his head. "I just—" He stopped. "I don't want to talk about it."

Rhodey sighed, and stood up. "Will you guys excuse us?" He said to the table.

He got Tony standing and guided him, maybe a little forcefully, out the cafeteria. They walked silently for a minute, through less-than-crowded halls, until they were tucked away in a part of the school almost no one went to.

"Okay," Rhodey said, placing both hands firmly on Tony's shoulders and leaning forward, compensating for the height difference. "What's up?"

Tony groaned quietly, almost silently. He didn't want to be out here, because then he'd end up breaking down and telling him everything. Which is why Rhodey did this. That caring asshole knew that Tony wasn't going to open up to a crowd. God, dammit. "I'm just...sick of being Natasha, I guess. That's all."

"Well, that's nothing new," Rhodey said, getting a small chuckle out of Tony. "Come on, Tones. Tell me what's eating at you. Be specific."

"That really is what's bugging me... I just fell so overwhelmed  by it, all the time. And I hate it so. Fucking. Much." Tony's breath hitched slightly as he continued, "My parents are dragging me to some bland fundraiser on Saturday. And I have to wear a dress, and act like a good little girl. And mom won't let me bring Steve. And everyone calls me Natasha. And I just want it to stop!"

When Tony finished, Rhodey pulled him into his arms, letting the smaller boy bury his face in his chest. Tony wrapped his arms around Rhodey's waist, relishing in the comfort of his best friend. His eyes were closed, holding back small tears that wanted to fall; he wasn't about to cry, not at school.

They stood there for a long moment, Rhodey running his hand down Tony's back, while Highway to Hell played quietly in Tony's one earbud. until Tony pulled away.

He took a sniffly breath, coughing near-silently to clear his throat as he pressed his thumb and forefinger to his eyes. After taking another long breath in, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked up at Rhodey. "Thanks," he whispered, pressing his lips together.

Rhodey smirked, patting him on the back, "What're best friends for?" He said, reaching into his pocket and handing over Tony's earbud. Tony pulled out his other one, and put them both in his pocket. "Let's get back to lunch before Jan comes after us."

"Good idea."

* * *

 

The second school was over, and he was safe from the cold inside his car, Tony pulled out his phone and texted Steve.

 **Tony:** _I need a hug.  
_ (3:30 PM)

 **Dorito:** _What happened?_     
(3:31 PM)

 **Tony:** _School fucking sucks, and my parents equally suck. Can I come over?  
_ (3:31 PM)

 **Dorito:** _I'm sorry baby. I've got practice until 4:45. You can come down and watch if you want.  
_ (3:34 PM)

 _Craaaap!_ Tony had completely forgotten that Basketball practice was starting today. Steve somehow played almost every sport offered at his school (Soccer in the fall, Basketball in the winter, and Ultimate Frisbee in the spring) and still had great grades. Tony sat there for a moment, actually contemplating showing up to Steve's school to watch his boyfriend sweat for an hour.  

 **Tony:** _Be there in 30  
_ (3:37 PM)

The things he'd do for a hug from that sweaty boy.

 **Dorito:** _See you soon <3  
_(3:37 PM)

Tony had been to Steve's school plenty of times, mostly for home-games; Tony had made it his personal mission to never miss one, which he hasn't. He probably knew his way around better than some enrolled students, and he could walk to the gym in the center of the main building without raising his eyes from his phone once. He entered the gym silently, scanning the huge room. There were a few people sitting scattered on the rows of benches lining one wall of the gym. The team was doing laps around the court, Steve well-ahead of everyone else.

 _Showoff,_ Tony thought with a grin. He walked fully into the gym, waving at Coach Coulson, who was yelling a weird mix of encouragements and insults at the boys. Having known Steve for so long, Tony also knew almost everyone on his team. The roster changed slightly, depending on the sport, but the core five guys were always the same: Steve, his best friend James Barnes, Sam Wilson, Thor (his real name was Donald Blake, but no one actually called him that), and Pietro Maximoff.

Tony sat down on a bench, tugging off his backpack and placing it down next to him.     

After four laps around the gym, Coulson told the team that they could stop. They all ran over to their Coach, grabbing water bottles. Steve grabbed his red, white and blue water bottle and immediately jogged over to Tony, a huge grin on his face.

"Hey," Steve said, slightly out of breath. As Tony stood up to greet him, he leaned forward and placed a small kiss on Tony's cheek. "You want that hug now or after I've showered?"

Tony pretended to ponder it for a second. Ok, so maybe he did wonder whether or not it'd be worth it; Steve's hugs really were that damn good. But where they good enough to get covered in sweat for? "I think I can wait."

"Ok, well we'll be done in..." Steve looked down at his watch, "45 minutes, so I hope you brought something to do."

"Don't worry about me, darling. I brought _homework_." Tony grinned, gesturing towards his backpack. "That'll keep me occupied for fifteen minutes or so. Maybe twenty if I make fun of my teachers."

Steve rolled his eyes, and gave Tony a kiss on the lips. "Just don't blame me if you die of boredom."

"Stevie, you know—" Tony started, before he was interrupted.

"Rogers! Stop kissing your girlfriend and get your ass back to practice!" Coulson yelled, making Steve cringe. Tony nearly growled.

"I'm so sorry," Steve said, kissing Tony's tightly pressed lips. "He just doesn't know. I'll talk to him. See you in 45."

Steve gave him another quick kiss on the cheek and ran back over to the team, immediately pulling his coach aside. After a minute of hushed talking, Coulson looked over at Tony, who was still standing there, arms crossed over his chest with a very unimpressed expression on his face, and nodded his head. That seemed to be all Steve needed, because he smiled and went over to where the rest of the team was running a drill.

Sighing, Tony sat back down. He might as well do his homework, to get away from the awkward eye contact he and Coulson had been making. In between stupidly easy math questions, Tony would look up, to watch his boyfriend. Steve loved playing sports, couldn't go without for very long. And he was great at it too. There wasn't a sport Steve had tried that he wasn't one of the best at.

True to his word, it took Tony roughly seventeen minutes to finish his work, excluding a research paper he needed a computer to complete. Packing everything away, he resided himself to being bored for the rest of Steve's practice, stretching his legs out a bit. He watched Coach Coulson shout at the team, and ogled Steve's beautiful body, for at least ten minutes before he was interrupted.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and Tony turned around to see a girl, probably fifteen years old, crouching on the bench behind him. Tony normally didn't take avid notice of people's clothes, because he really couldn't care less, but this girl's wardrobe caught his eye immediately. She was wearing a tight, red crop top, a huge translucent black shirt over it, black jeans with vibrant designs of all types in red along every inch, and tight brown boots that looked well-worn. She also had roughly ten necklaces, four earrings in each ear (including a cuff and chain on the left) and probably twenty bracelets in total. None of it looked incredibly new or expensive, but was all definitely well taken care of.  

"Hi," she said, holding out a hand in greeting, bracelets clinking together, "I'm Wanda, Pietro's sister." She had a slight accent, maybe Romanian.

Tony shook her hand, smiling politely. "I'm Tony."

"So, you're Steve's...partner?" She said hesitantly, styling it like a question.

"Boyfriend," Tony corrected kindly. At least she didn't say girlfriend.  

Wanda smiled. "Oh, cool. You two seem very connected."

Tony laughed warmly. "I guess you could say that."

"How long have you been dating?" Wanda asked, sitting down next to him.

"It'll be two years in March."

"That's great."

"So, you enjoying watching these sweaty beasts as much as I am?" Tony asked.

Wanda laughed. "Not particularly. I have to wait for Pietro before I can go home. We take the bus together."

"Fun," Tony said, mildly sarcastic. The conversation was slightly awkward, but not enough to warrant Tony asking her to leave. The girl was nice, and Tony was too bored to pass up the opportunity to talk to someone. "So, what made you decide to strike up a conversation with little old me?"

"You looked as bored as me."

"You got that right."

They talked for a while more, about simple things, until practice was over and the team had already taken showers in the locker room.

"Are you making friends?" Steve asked as he and Pietro were walking over. He was in a thick sweatshirt and jeans, with his backpack over one shoulder. A few strands of his hair were still dripping from his shower, leaving trails of water down his face and neck.

Tony grabbed his backpack and stood up, kissing Steve's cheek. "Yup! And you thought I'd get bored," he mocked lovingly, drawing out the last word.

"Not _bored_ , per say. You can keep yourself entertained just fine," Steve replied, wrapping an arm around Tony's small shoulders; Tony followed suit, snaking an arm around Steve's waist and squeezing. They both waved goodbye to Wanda and Pietro as they started out of the gym. "I just didn't want you wreaking havoc when I wasn't there to do damage control."

Tony scoffed loudly. " _Steven,_ " he gasped dramatically, pressing his free hand to his chest. "What kind of person do you take me for?"

Steve laughed, somehow pulling Tony closer. "You're a dork."

"But I'm your dork."

Steve rolled his eyes at the cliche but didn't deny what Tony had said.

Once they were both in Tony's car, and the heat was cranked up all the way, Tony left the parking lot and headed to Steve's house. 

"So, what did your parents do this time?" Steve asked, reaching over to hold Tony's right hand.

Tony immediately started talking; he spent the entire ride bitching about his parents and the stupid fucking fundraiser that he had absolutely no desire to attend. He even managed to complain about Justin Hammer a bit before they got to Steve's apartment. Steve didn't say much during the conversation/monologue, only adding agreements to what Tony was saying, or the occasional gripe. He got _really_ floored though, when Tony talked about Justin asking him out. 

While he was unlocking the apartment door, Steve asked, "So, where's this fundraiser exactly?"

"It's at some fancy hotel on Broadway Avenue," Tony grumbled, as he pulled off his coat and boots.

"And it starts at..?"

"7 o'clock, why?"

"Oh, I was just wondering," Steve said, sitting down at the kitchen table. "Think you could help me with my trigonometry homework?"


	3. Chapter 3

When Tony got home, around ten o'clock, Jarvis didn't greet him at the door. He could also hear his parents shouting about something in the main living room. He groaned silently and power-walked up the staircase and to his bedroom.

When he opened the door, his stomach dropped. There were two boxes and a plastic bag sitting on the foot of his bed. He ground his teeth together, as he dropped his backpack and picked up one of the boxes. Might as well get this over with. It was the smaller one, probably a shoe box. Tony prayed that they were at least flats.

When he opened it, his chin dropped to the floor. Inside, wrapped in crinkly white paper, were a simple pair of black, men's dress shoes.

"What?" Tony breathed. Why would Jarvis get him men's shoes? They wouldn't go with a dress. Did Jarvis...? No, his mom would have never let Jarvis get him a suit.

He put the box down and picked up the plastic bag. Inside were a pair of black tights, confirming Tony's thoughts; Jarvis hadn't gotten him a suit. It took Tony an embarrassingly long time to work up the courage to actually open the box that most certainly held his dress. Once he did, he was again surprised by what he found. It was was a dress, obviously; a white one that would cover his chest completely and came just past Tony's knees. There was also a vest inside the box and a bow tie.    

While Tony was trying to figure out why the fuck Jarvis would have gotten him this when it would just make his parents angry, someone knocked on his door. He turned towards it in time to see Jarvis walk in.

"I see you've found it," he said with a small smile.

"Yeah," Tony said, putting the dress back in the box. "So, were you arguing with my parents?"

"I'm afraid so," Jarvis admitted, sitting down heavily on the bed. "They are less than happy with me."

Tony sat down next to him. "Is everything...okay?"

"Not at the moment, but it will be in a few days."

"Can I do anything?"

"No," Jarvis said simply, rubbing Tony's back. "We will simply need to wait for their anger to pass."

Tony dropped his eyes towards the floor. He hated not being able to do something.

Jarvis stood up, patting Tony on the shoulder lightly. "Do not worry. You have two more days until the fundraiser, and I do not want you panicking over it until then." He started towards the door, stopping with his hand on the frame. "By the way, we will be getting your hair cut tomorrow, so come straight home. Oh, and find a picture of the haircut you want, so that we can show it to the stylist."

"What?" Tony asked, looking up to see Jarvis smiling deviously. "Wait. Do you mean what I think you mean?"

"Yes, Tony. I convinced your parents to allow you to cut it how you want." Jarvis's smile reminded Tony of Mrs. Rogers' smile when Steve accomplishes something.  

Tony leaped off his bed to wrap his arms around Jarvis. "Thank you so much," he whispered into the old man's chest.

* * *

 

Jarvis brought Tony to one of his good friend's hair salon right after school, just like he said he would.

"Edwin! I've missed you!" A tall woman, probably in her late 40s, exclaimed when they walked through the front door. She left her spot behind the desk and walked up to them, hugging Jarvis. "And I assume you're Tony?" she asked, shaking Tony's hand.

"That would be me."

"Awesome! My name's Evaline, and I'll be cutting your hair," she smirked, miming the movement of cutting something with her fingers. "If you'll just follow me, we can get this all started." She gestured towards a back area.

You are really cool, Tony thought, giving Jarvis his coat and following Evaline.

"So, what are we doing today, darling?" Evaline asked after Tony was sitting in the chair. He had a few droplets dripping down his neck and face from the hair wash.  

Tony pulled out his phone and showed her a picture of his favorite actor, Robert Downey Jr. The haircut he was sporting was pretty short, with a spiked up look on the top. "Something like this?" He asked.

She took his phone for a second, examining it, and then handed it back to him. "Perfect!"

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, Evaline occasionally asking Tony questions about his life. You know, the average questions adults ask teenagers they don't really know: How's school going? What's new? How's life? Got any plans for college? She stood out from other adults immediately, though, when she asked what pronouns Tony uses. And when she respected his identity, even though he didn't look very male.

"Finished! Ready to see yourself?" Evaline asked, after about 30 minutes, She was dusting off some brown hairs off Tony's shoulder.

"Oh yeah."

Evaline turned the chair around and Tony's mouth dropped. He looked so different, and he loved it. His face looked stockier, and he actually looked like he had some sort of jawline. The haircut didn't suddenly make him look like someone with testosterone coursing through their body, but he could work with this. He actually had a chance at passing now.

"Like it?" Evaline asked, smiling behind Tony.

"I love it."

"Awesome!" Evaline said, pulling off the cape and letting Tony stand up.

When his hands were free, Tony immediately ran his fingers through the short strands of hair. It felt amazing, all fuzzy and soft. He blushed slightly when he noticed that both adults were watching him with warm smiles.

"Thank you so much, Evaline."

"No problem, darling. Come back in two months to get a trim, okay?"

"Okay."

The second Tony was in the car, with Jarvis driving, he pulled out his phone and took a picture of himself. He sent it to a few of his closest friends, but not Steve. He wanted to surprise him.  

It was 4:30, so if Tony headed home with Jarvis, grabbed a few things, and drove over to Steve's apartment, Basketball practice would be over and Steve should be home. Even if he wasn't, Sarah would be and she'd let Tony in without a thought. That'd actually be better, Tony thought. I can surprise him with both my presence and my hair. Perfect.

As Tony looked at his reflection in the rearview mirror, his phone kept buzzing from various messages coming in sporadically.

 **RhodeyBear** : _HOLY SHIT, MAN. YOU LOOK GREAT_  
(4:22 PM)

 **Brucey:** _Awesome haircut._  
(4:25 PM)

 **Bartass:** _Took you long enough to finally look hot_  
(4:25 PM)

 **Natasha:** _Good job, Tony. It looks wonderful._  
(4:26 PM)

 **Pepp:** _I love it, Tony!_  
(4:28 PM)

 **Jan:** _Wow, you look amazing! :) <3_  
(4:28 PM)

* * *

 When Tony got to the Rogers' small apartment, Sarah invited him in immediately, hugging him tightly around the waist when she saw his haircut.

"Oh, Tony, you look so handsome!" She cheered, kissing him on the cheek.

"Thanks, Mrs. R," Tony grinned, pulling off his coat and boots and putting them away.

"Stevie should be home soon, hun. Are you hungry?"

"No thanks," Tony said. "I was just going to hide in Steve's room and surprise him with all of this." He gestured at his head with both hands. "When he gets home can you not tell him that I'm here?"

Sarah rolled her eyes lovingly. "Of course," she sighed, giving Tony another kiss, on the forehead this time, and pushing him towards Steve's bedroom. "Now make yourself scarce. He'll be home any minute."

Tony hustled to Steve's bedroom, shutting the door behind him and flopping down onto the neatly made bed. He pulled his laptop out of his backpack and dropped the now significantly lighter bag onto the ground. Tony was determined to look as casual as possible when Steve showed up: headphones in, listening to heavy metal while he finished an English paper.

He didn't hear the door open a few minutes later, but he could see Steve standing there, in the corner of his eye. Tony pulled out his earbuds and beamed up at his boyfriend. "What do ya think?" He inquired, foregoing acting like nothing had changed.

"What do I—? Tony, I love it!" Steve spluttered. His bag fell from his grasp as he climbed onto the bed. Tony barely had time to put his computer on the bedside table before Steve's arms were wrapped around him. After the sturdy hug, Steve pushed Tony to arms length, examining the haircut up close. He ran his fingers through it tentatively. "You look amazing," he declared.

A faint blush showed on Tony's cheeks and nose. "Thanks," he said, leaning forward to press his lips to Steve's. He honestly was only going for a gentle kiss, but Steve seemed to have different ideas. The bigger teen wrapped one arm around Tony's waist so that he could lay him down on the bed gracefully, pressing their chests and hips together without crushing Tony. He managed to deepen the kiss at the same time, whispering diabetically-sweet words into Tony's mouth during each gasp for air.

"...Stunning...unacceptably handsome...sexy...I don't even know...how I...ever keep my hands...off you..." He trailed kisses and nips down Tony's sensitive neck, sucking a few small hickeys onto places that he knew Tony could cover up.

"Steve," Tony berated, "Not that I don't like the attention, but I'm pretty sure your mom won't like it if she suddenly hears me moaning..."

Steve paused, looking up at Tony. He somehow had forgotten that his mother was sitting in the living room ten feet away. "You're right," he said, sitting up so that he was straddling Tony's hips. "I guess I got carried away by your beauty."

"God, you're more of a sap than maple syrup," Tony teased, pulling Steve down by his shirt so that he could kiss him again.

They spent the rest of the afternoon cuddling while watching the new season of Orange is the New Black on Tony's laptop. Steve didn't seem to be able to keep his hands out of Tony's hair, as he spent the majority of their time together with his fingers slowly gliding through it. Not that Tony was complaining, of course. He can't get enough of people playing with his hair.

"You're the best," Tony murmured. 

* * *

 _I've been here for ten minutes, and I'm already ready to dive out a window,_ Tony thought bitterly, trying pointlessly to pull the dress he was wearing just a little bit lower so that it covered more of his legs.

He was sitting at the table his family had been "assigned" to, taking small sips of the complimentary water. His parents were already gone, mingling mindlessly with the other rich snobs. Thankfully, no one had tried to approach him, including the few teenagers that were there. In fact, everyone seemed to be keeping quite the distance between him and themselves. Tony knew why, and it bothered him a little, but when he really thought about it, he couldn't care less about other people's opinions on his clothing choices and his haircut.

He pulled out his cellphone from the (freaking awesome) pocket of his stupid fucking dress. _  
_

**Tony:** _This is the 8th layer of hell.  
_ (7:24 PM)

 **Dorito:** _It can't be that bad.  
_ (7:30 PM)

 **Tony:** _I'm in a dress, and people won't stop staring at me. It's that bad.  
_ (7:31 PM)

 **Dorito:** _I'm sure it'll get better.  
_ (7:32 PM)

 **Tony:** _How do you stay so fucking positive?  
_ (7:32 PM)

 **Dorito:** _Language.  
_ (7:34 PM)

Tony scoffed.

 **Tony:** _You're one to talk._  
(7:35 PM) 

Tony leaned forward and placed his chin in the palm of his hand, sighing. He really didn't want to be here. 

 **Tony:** _I really don't want to be here._  Can you please put me out of my misery?  
(7:35 PM)

Suddenly, Tony's wallowing was interrupted by two large hands resting on his shoulders. He turned around and saw Tiberius Stone standing behind him, grinning like he was the hottest piece of shit alive.

"How are you on this fine evening, Ms. Stark?" Tiberius asked, massaging Tony's shoulders.

Tony wanted to be snappy and make some sarcastic comment, but he wasn't stupid. Starting something aggressive with Tiberius would only end poorly. The dude was a douchebag. "I'm fine," he said, showing no sincere emotions.

"Well, how about I help you make it a little more than fine," Tiberius whispered. He leaned forward as he was speaking until Tony could feel his hot breath on his ear. It sent a wave of discomfort down Tony's back. "Dance with me." It wasn't a question, and there was no way Tony could say no.

"Alright then," Tony ground out, forcing a passive smile on his face. He stood up and took Tiberius's hand, letting the taller man lead him to the dance floor. There were almost no people dancing, and Tony hated how he couldn't blend in. _Everyone_ could see them if they just turned away from their pompous conversations.  

They waltzed to the slow beat of the music for a while, as Tiberius monologued. Tony didn't say much, just the necessary filler words to make the moron think that he was interested. And then the asshole had the audacity to creepily lower his hand from its spot cradling Tony's back to the curve of Tony's ass and _squeeze_.

Tony jolted when Tiberius groped him; he wanted nothing more than to pull away, and get out of the situation, but he couldn't. There weren't enough people around them to make the proper barrier. If he didn't finish this song, everyone would know, and that wouldn’t end well.

So, Tony just took the sexual assault and continued to dance with a paparazzi smile plastered on his face.

 _God, when is this song going to end!_ Tony screamed silently while simultaneously nodding at all the right places as Tiberius continued to drone _on and on_ about how great he was.

“Excuse me,” a sudden voice said politely, but loud enough to be heard over the music. “May I cut in?”

They both turned towards the voice, and Tony’s eyes widened in shock. It was _Steve_ , like...his boyfriend Steve, who shouldn't have even been able to get in the building; the fundraiser had a pretty strict guest list. He was dressed in a nice suit, that fit him almost perfectly, standing tall with his shoulders held high. He looked regal and hot as fuck.

Tiberius coughed, releasing Tony so that he could look Steve square in the face. They were nearly the same height, but Steve came out on top with an inch or two. “That was a little rude, don’t you think, to interrupt such a wonderful dance in the middle of a song?” Tiberius accused.

“You probably shouldn’t say that it was _wonderful_ when one-half of the party is clearly not enjoying themselves,” Steve shot back calmly, holding his ground.

 _Overprotective boyfriend mode activate,_ Tony thought with a chuckle.

Tiberius sighed dramatically, glancing around the massive room quickly; Tony copied him, suddenly worried that everyone was staring at them. They weren’t.

“Fine,” Tiberius said, backing up. He gave Steve a small mock-bow, his cocky grin stuck on his stupid face. “Have fun.”

Steve thanked him sarcastically and turned towards Tony. “May I have this dance?” He asked, smiling warmly. _God, that smile could power cities._

Tony gladly took his boyfriend’s hand, positioning them so that he would be leading. He was still in minor shock that Steve was even here and had just made Tiberius Douchebag Stone back the fuck off, so they danced silently for a few minutes.

When he did get his voice back, Tony asked, "So...not that I'm complaining, but why and how are you here?" He asked as they did a slow twirl.

Steve laughed, as Tony guided them around the floor to the flow of the music. "Well," he started, drawing the word out to at least three syllables. "I was bored and I wanted to be with my boyfriend so I started searching for the perfect attire. I found out that one of my teammates, Jeffery, had a suit that was my size and I asked him if I could borrow it. Bucky may or may not have helped me sneak in through one of the back entrances."

Tony laughed, pressing his forehead against Steve's chest. "Are you telling me that you came here _on purpose?_ " Tony asked, exaggerating his shock. He looked up at Steve with his eyebrows raised.  

"Are you telling me you would have preferred for me to stay home?" Steve shot back, raising one eyebrow. 

"Hell no," Tony replied honestly, leaning up to kiss his freakishly tall boyfriend. Even when Tony stood on the tips of his feet, Steve still had to lean down for their lips to touch.

They danced together for the next three songs, saying nothing. Tony even let Steve lead for half a song, which ended when Steve crushed Tony's feet three too many times. 

After the third song was over, Tony guided Steve off the dance floor. They sat down at Tony's table, holding hands the whole time. 

"So, what do you tend to do at these things besides slow dance?" Steve asked, looking around awkwardly.

"There's really not much to do here, especially when you're a kid," Tony said, taking a sip of his water and offering it to Steve. "The adults talk about boring crap while pretending to care about the charity they're donating to. While us teenagers just have to stand there and look decent." Steve drank some of the water. "I honestly don't even know where my parents are; Dad might have even taken off already. He hates these things almost as much as I do."

They sat in silence for a while, as Steve used his thumb to slowly massage the top of Tony's hand. "So, how's your robot arm coming?" Steve knew that asking Tony about one of his projects would immediately break silent moments for a while because Tony wouldn't be able to shut up.

And he wasn't wrong; Tony instantly started rambling about his latest project. "I've pretty much got the calibrations for the arm's movements done; it just needs a few adjustments to move smoothly. The AI is what's giving me trouble. I just can't seem to get to actually _do anything_. Whenever I connect its software to the arm's hardware, it just nods at me, over and over. I can't get it to take commands or even acknowledge me."

When Tony stopped for air, Steve said, "I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"Oh, I _know_  I will. That robot is my ticket into MIT."

Steve smiled like the love-struck idiot that he was, content to listen to Tony ramble for however long his handsome genius wanted to.

Neither of Tony's parents saw them together throughout the entire fundraiser. Or maybe they had but hadn't said anything, there was no way to be sure. All in all, Tony had a pretty decent night. Yeah, he was in a fucking dress, and Tiberius Stone was a creep. But he had his absolutely perfect, wonderful boyfriend by his side the whole night, and hey, he didn't even see Justin Hammer. Maybe the idiot hadn't shown up out of embarrassment.  

Tony ended up going home with Steve, shortly before the fundraiser was meant to end; after pulling his mom (who wasn't yet tipsy but smelt so heavily like expensive wine that someone could have mistaken it for her perfume) aside and telling her that he was leaving. That's all he had said, and she didn't question it. Tony wasn't sure how he felt about that. 

He and Steve spent the night in Steve's bed, after replacing all of their fancy clothes with comfortable ones. Steve had a pair of old pajama pants that he'd had from a few years ago, back before his growth spurt; they were just a bit too big for Tony. Steve had also given Tony a huge cotton T-shirt, that he was currently drowning in. Tony had no complaints. 

"I love you," Steve whispered in Tony's ear, pressing a feather-light kiss to his temple. They were both on the edge of exhaustion, so close to falling asleep in each other's arms. 

Tony closed his eyes for a moment and smiled, leaning over to kiss Steve. "I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that's the ridiculously fluffy ending to the story! I hope you enjoyed it! There will be more works in this series. Leave ideas in the comments if you have them :)
> 
> Tony's haircut: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/ba/5c/3f/ba5c3f16e67a7e117246910f1c540a15.jpg
> 
> My tumblr, if you're interested: rocknrollout.tumblr.com


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